


because we're us

by chatnoirinette (maryssaj)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 00:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20684468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maryssaj/pseuds/chatnoirinette
Summary: Marinette/Ladybug point of view of the Ladybug sentimonster scene from the episode "Ladybug"-----Suddenly, there was a flash of movement. With a second’s delay, Marinette mimicked Hawkmoth, flinging her captive away from her. She barely thought—only acted. She saw Chat sailing in an arc over the side of the building, and she forgot the advice she had just given him mere minutes ago. She ignored her brain, and she listened to her heart instead.





	because we're us

She got to the roof just in time. Chat Noir was cradling the imposter Ladybug in his arms, moving closer, their lips almost touching. Although she couldn’t see it, Marinette was sure that she (it?) was slipping the ring from Chat’s finger, slowly, carefully, so subtly that he didn’t even notice. She vaulted across the roof and pushed them forcefully apart, sending them flying in opposite directions.

“Watch it, Chat Noir!” she scolded, arms still raised. “You’re confusing fantasy with reality!”

Chat looked up at her, his catlike eyes wide, but his gaze settled back on the imposter. “You’re not Ladybug?” he asked incredulously.

“No,” the imposter said. “She’s not _me_!”

It was an incredible imitation, Marinette thought, but the voice was off somehow. _Too_ sweet, _too_ innocent. She turned back to Chat.

“She’s manipulating you. You know I’m already in love with someone else!” It came out harsher than she intended, but she was nearly at the end of her rope. How many times did she have to tell him? How many times would he make her break his heart all over again? She could see it happening again right now, the pain etched plainly on his face as he shifted his gaze between her and the other Ladybug, not knowing who to believe.

“Listen to your heart,” the fake practically whimpered.

“No!” Marinette said, exasperated. “Listen to your _brain_!”

For a moment, Chat still looked conflicted. But then he set his brow and stood. “You’re just an illusion!” He hurled his stick toward her. 

Marinette caught it easily in one hand. “See? I’m real enough,” she said, throwing it back. It struck Chat in the chest, causing him to stumble in surprise.

“Impossible! There can’t be two Ladybugs!” he said.

The imposter struggled to get to her feet. “She must be a fan of Ladybug’s that’s been akumatized by Hawkmoth. Don’t fall for her tricks!” She set her yo-yo spinning, still managing to look fragile while she did it. Did she really think she was fooling anyone?

“Milady, no!” Chat cried. Marinette flinched. Well … apparently she was fooling someone. It was unsettling to hear him use that name for an imposter, to see him looking so desperately at a fake. But the way she seemed to capture him so thoroughly … this was no run-of-the-mill akumatization. There was something different at play here.

“We’ve got a villain to fight,” the other Ladybug said. “We’ll take care of me later.” 

At this, Chat sprang into attack stance, smiling confidently as he twirled his baton. “That’s the lady I know.”

Marinette threw her head backward and groaned. “Ugh! I can’t believe you fell for that!”

Well, if he didn’t believe her, then … she’d just have to play along. She had an idea of what the imposter really was, but there was only one way to be sure.

She mirrored Chat’s attack stance, offering a crooked smile. “OK, good job, you win. I _am_ the fake Ladybug. But there’s no way I’m letting you _cataclysm_ my _earrings_.” She pointed to them for emphasis. _Take the bait_, she thought. _Let’s draw her out of hiding_.

“You wanna bet?” Chat said with a grin, all his usual swagger back. _Good_, Marinette thought. She let the fake Ladybug catch her in her yo-yo string and stood motionless with her eyes closed as Chat rushed toward her.

“Cata—” he began, but a desperate voice rang out. 

“No! Not the earrings!”

Chat stumbled and rolled in surprise. The imposter retracted her string. _Ha! Just as I thought_. Marinette turned toward the voice with a hand on her hip. “Hello, Mayura.”

“What? Mayura?” Chat spluttered, still on his knees. “But—she looks so real!”

The fake Ladybug retreated backward toward her master, who held her usual feathered fan aloft.

“Things aren’t always what they seem to be at first sight,” Marinette told Chat. She kept her eyes locked on Mayura’s partially obscured face as she set her yo-yo spinning again.

Chat got to his feet to stand behind Marinette. “This Ladybug isn’t an illusion _or_ an akumatized person,” he said, comprehension dawning in his voice.

“Uh-huh! She’s a sentimonster.”

“But she’s so much more elaborate than any of those we’ve faced before,” Chat said. “She’s so perfect. There’s nothing monstrous about her at all.”

Marinette could hear the awe in his voice … and the hurt. As frustrated as she had been that he’d fallen for the trick, could she really blame him? This monster represented everything he wanted. The one he loved, finally loving him back. How many times had she imagined the same thing for herself? She knew firsthand that being in love sometimes keeps you from seeing clearly. If it had been Adrien, would she be able to resist?

She watched the sentimonster spin her yo-yo. All traces of tenderness were gone from her face. Instead, she looked like she was made of stone. She was such a flawless replica—in some ways, an even better version of Ladybug. Marinette was sure that’s how it seemed to Chat. Why did she have to be the bad guy in this scenario? Why did she have to be the one to break his heart again?

“Sorry, Kitty, but you should’ve known,” she said gently. “I’m nowhere near as perfect as her.”

Chat didn’t miss a beat. “I love you just the way you are, milady.”

At his words, something flickered in Marinette’s heart. When he said it like _ that_—simply, naturally, like a fact, like a promise—something always did. It was like the flutter of a butterfly’s wing, or the tinkling of a wind chime, or the glimmer of a coin at the bottom of a fountain. She never had a chance to explore what it really was, but it was something.

She was so used to his flirting that it barely affected her anymore except to annoy her. But underneath all the ridiculous bravado, behind the sly grins and cheesy pick-up lines—it was there, his love, for real. Sometimes she almost forgot about it, because everything was always a joke to Chat Noir, but in moments like this, she caught a glimpse of the boy behind the mask, the one wearing his heart on his sleeve.

How did he do it? She had planned so many times to tell Adrien how she felt, but she was always too much of a coward to do it. Maybe that was the bravest thing about Chat Noir. Not jumping from buildings or fighting villains or saving the city almost daily. Maybe it was the way he said “I love you” every time, when he knew she wouldn’t say it back. 

She knew she didn’t deserve this kind of devotion, especially when she couldn’t return it. It killed her that she was killing him. But there wasn’t any time to talk about it. With Ladybug and Chat Noir, the guardians of Paris, there never was. There was always a job to do. It was back to business in the space of a breath. 

“Got a hint of where her amok is,” Marinette said. “Look at what Mayura’s holding!” She nodded toward the Eiffel Tower pendant dangling from her fist.

“Whatever it takes, steal their miraculous from them and don’t hold back!” Mayura barked. The sentimonster sprang into action.

“_Senti Charm!_”

An enormous gun fell into the monster’s arms.

“Whoa,” Chat said. But Marinette was not impressed.

“I’ll show you a _real_ lucky charm!” She tossed her yo-yo upwards, and a fork fell into her hand. She looked at it dubiously. Not exactly a show-stopper, but she always trusted her lucky charm.

“OK, you’re definitely the real one,” Chat said. Marinette flashed him a smile, relieved that he was finally back, for real, but there wasn’t time to do anything else. The sentimonster blasted her gun, and they both had to dive out of the way. And then came the full chaos of battle.

As Marinette flipped and dodged the blasts, she caught a glimpse of Mayura and paused to get a better look. She was hunched over, braced against the wall. It looked like the peacock miraculous was taking a toll on her.

Suddenly, Chat was diving in front of Marinette, pushing her out of the way of a coming blast. They collapsed to the ground but were on their feet again immediately. No time to thank him. This is just how they worked, she and Chat. Saving each other’s lives had become so routine that it hardly seemed worth mentioning.

“Mayura looks exhausted,” she told him. “That’s our chance to bring her down. And find out who’s behind the mask.”

Another blast sounded. Marinette leaped into the air, stepping on bullets to vault herself into a flip. As she turned she spotted a large pane of glass and, as she always did, she knew upon sight that this was where her lucky charm would come into play.

“Cover your ears!” she called to Chat. She jumped onto the glass, raking the fork along its length. A horrible screech rent the air. As Marinette had expected, the sentimonster immediately dropped the gun to cover her ears. And so did Mayura. The Eiffel Tower charm fell, and Marinette snatched it up with her yo-yo.

But as she raised the charm to break it and release the amok, she caught sight of the sentimonster, standing motionless, and paused.

“What’s going on?” Chat asked, landing nimbly beside the other Ladybug. 

Marinette stared at the monster, who looked more innocent than ever now. “You’re right,” she said. “There’s nothing monstrous about her.” She held up the Eiffel Tower charm. “Whoever possesses this controls the sentimonster. She couldn’t help but follow orders.”

Marinette walked up to her double and placed the charm in her hands. “Sentimonster, you’re free now,” she said. “I won’t give you orders. But I ask you, help us grab Mayura’s miraculous.”

The girl hugged the charm to her chest. The look of gratitude on her face seemed impossibly human. “Thank you, Ladybug. I _will _help you!”

Together, the three of them advanced toward Mayura. She was cornered. They had won. But then, Mayura raised a hand. The sentimonster fell, clutching her chest in pain. And with a snap of Mayura’s finger, she vanished. In shock, Marinette watched the Eiffel Tower charm clatter to the ground. The amok floated upward, transforming back into an innocent feather, and was carried away on the wind.

“How could you?” Chat yelled. He charged at Mayura. But immediately, a dark figure appeared, and he was sent flying in the opposite direction.

“Getting sentimental on a sentimonster?” said the deep, smooth voice. Marinette fell into attack position, her yo-yo spinning steadily.

“Hawkmoth!”

Chat got to his feet. “You’re the real monster!”

“Oh, that. You’ll find out very soon.”

With a roar, Hawkmoth lunged at Marinette. She blocked him with her yo-yo shield. Chat jumped from behind her, striking Hawkmoth with his baton.

“We’ve missed you, grandpa! You don’t mind me calling you grandpa, right?”

“You won’t be joking around when I take your miraculous!”

Marinette fell back, surveying the scene for an opening, and spotted Mayura cowering defenselessly in the corner.

“Chat Noir, cover me!” she shouted. She ran forward, flung her yo-yo toward Mayura, saw its string wrap securely around her. _Ha! _She looked up in triumph, only to feel her stomach drop. Hawkmoth had a tight grip on Chat Noir. He laughed coldly. “Checkmate, Ladybug.”

Marinette looked into Chat’s familiar green eyes, so catlike yet so human, always alive, always saying exactly how he felt. And this time, what she saw there was fear. She watched in horror as Hawkmoth reached for the black ring.

“No!” she cried. But Chat was a quick thinker.

“Cataclysm!” he choked out. The strange black power bubbled out from his clenched fist. Marinette released her breath.

“Good move, Kitty,” she said. “Now all I have to do is grab Mayura’s miraculous, and it’s over. Checkmate, Hawkmoth! You better surrender.”

Hawkmoth laughed in reply, pinning Chat even tighter. “All I need to do is wait a few minutes until you and your pet transform back into regular kids—so fragile, so easy to break.”

Marinette tightened her grip on the yo-yo string as she gazed steely eyed at Hawkmoth. “Release him!”

“Release _her_,” Hawkmoth growled back.

“Don’t mind me,” Mayura said.

“Don’t listen to him!” The desperation in Chat’s voice matched the fear in his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a flash of movement. With a second’s delay, Marinette mimicked Hawkmoth, flinging her captive away from her. She barely thought—only acted. She saw Chat sailing in an arc over the side of the building, and she forgot the advice she had just given him mere minutes ago. She ignored her brain, and she listened to her heart instead.

As she sprinted across the roof, she met Hawkmoth’s gaze one more time. _Soon_, she thought. _Just not today_.

She jumped from the side of the building, throwing her yo-yo string behind her. She caught Chat just in time and set him gently to the ground, cradling him on her lap.

“You had Mayura right where you wanted her!” Chat said. “I could’ve managed by myself. Why’d you do that?” His eyes were no longer full of fear, but disbelief, maybe even a tinge of frustration.

Marinette turned to watch Hawkmoth leap over the Paris rooftops with Mayura, her heart sinking. She could’ve grabbed the peacock miraculous. She had time. She could’ve stopped this. And Chat was right. She knew he would have been fine on his own, with his superhuman reflexes and his magic baton and his indestructible suit. How many times had she seen him jump or fall from even greater heights? But despite all that, she couldn’t bring herself to regret her choice.

“Because we’re Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she said. _Because we’re a team. Because we’re partners. Because we’re us. I will always have your back. I will always be there to save you, even when you don’t need it. I had to choose you, Chat Noir. I’ll choose you every time._

But because she couldn’t say all that, because it always had to be a joke, she added, “Ladybug by itself doesn’t sound half as cool.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” Chat whispered. He closed his eyes, leaning in for a kiss. Silly kitty. Always fishing where there is nothing to catch. Normally Marinette would be annoyed, but she had seen the way he looked at the sentimonster. She knew how much he wanted this—them. Her heart almost broke for him. She knew the feeling very well.

She placed a finger on his lips to stop the advance. “But the real Ladybug’s heart belongs to someone else,” she said softly.

He opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Heh, I should’ve guessed that too.”

_I’m sorry, Kitty,_ she thought._ I’m so, so sorry._ But, like always, she had work to do.

“_Miraculous Ladybug!_”


End file.
